i·ro·ny/ˈīrənē,ˈiərnē/noun•a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects and is often amusing as a result.

Sadly amusing is more like it.

^^^^And yeah, I read that article when Kevin first posted it and it got me all fired up but I didn't know where to begin and didn't want to waste my time giving the author what he wanted. I will say though, that saying Jerry was a douchebag because you don't like his music and because he had a devastating drug addiction only turns the douchebag mirror around on yourself.

I think we saw this coming with Northerly now. Plus I know the residents of that town hated the foot traffic that it brought. Even though It's a legendary venue, It had some negatives, such as the crappy lawn, despite a nice view, it was a challenge to get to bathrooms, concessions. Not a lot of hotels around and they nixed the camping for the most part yrs ago. I know people complained about the lot being over policed. IMO unless you were a dumb ass It was not too much different from almost just every other lot scene. I would of liked to see one more run here though. The pavilion seats were money.

El Bastarde wrote:^Is there a large outdoor venue where it ISN’T a pain to get to concessions or bathrooms?

And, yeah, I always meant to make the trip to Alpine (almost in 2008 but I had a bad scalper experience) but never did. Wish I could have checked it out.

Haha. But Alpine is special" you have a few porta potty's in the waaaaaaaay back of the lawn and I believe most/bathrooms concessions are on the far back corner of the venue. A lot of outdoor venues have access on both sides of the venue.

I would think unless something bizarre happens, Phish will do one more Creek/Alpine run.

...Dip a ladle for a taste of her creation...& she knew that what she made...would be the Finest in the Nation....

I agree for the most part, just so many good times and shows it is kind of sad to see.. I remember when I first went in "96 it was the first "different" kind of venue that I had been too. So that was cool, but besides it looking pretty, I am the point where most everything else is not great, and I've now been to other great/beautiful venues that are better. I would still love for them to skip Northerly one yr and do one more Alpine run.

...Dip a ladle for a taste of her creation...& she knew that what she made...would be the Finest in the Nation....

Yes, 107 million spiders. I may not sleep tonight, or go to Baltimore again.

4-Acre Spider Web Engulfs Building

By Gwen Pearson

How many spiders does it take to creep you out? 10? 100? How many spiders make an “extreme spider situation”?

The Baltimore Wastewater Treatment Plant put out a call for “extreme spider” help in 2009, when a giant spiderweb covered almost 4 acres of their facility. Scientists eventually estimated over 107 million spiders were living in the structure, with densities of 35,176 spiders per m³ in spots.

The “immense” in their title doesn’t really begin to cover it. From the paper:

“We were unprepared for the sheer scale of the spider population and the extraordinary masses of both three dimensional and sheet-like webbing that blanketed much of the facility’s cavernous interior. Far greater in magnitude than any previously recorded aggregation of orb-weavers, the visual impact of the spectacle was was nothing less than astonishing.

In places where the plant workers had swept aside the webbing to access equipment, the silk lay piled on the floor in rope-like clumps as thick as a fire hose.”

Remember, that paragraph was written by 5 mid-career professional entomologists and arachnologists. If they were a bit startled by the size of the web….it was a big freakin’ web.

In some areas of the plant over 95% of space was filled with spider web. The webbing was so dense that it pulled 8-foot long fluorescent light fixtures out of place.

The scientists described their estimate of 35,176 spiders/m³ as “markedly conservative” and “representing a minimum volume” of spiders, by the way.

Question: do you measure spiders in Metric ShitTons? Or in Imperial ShitLoads?

Either way, it’s an awful lot of spiders.

Giant multi-species webs actually aren’t that rare. In 2007, a huge communal spiderweb was reported in Texas, and many of the same spider species were found to be the architects. Megawebs in the United States are usually dominated by two spider species, Tetragnatha guatemalensis and Larinioides sclopetarius.

All recorded US megawebs have occurred near water. That makes sense, because spiders have to eat, and midges emerge in huge quantities from water where they breed and live.

So, we really do want these spiders around, even if the concept of them coming together to form a giant webby Spider Voltron is a little creepy.

Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant Turns Down £500MILLION to Reform Supergroup

Nov 08, 2014 21:00 By Katie Hind

The rock legend ripped up Sir Richard Branson’s contract for 35 dates in front of astonished promoters after the other members of the supergroup all signed up Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant has turned down a Whole Lotta Lolly – more than £500MILLION – to reform the band for the dearest tour in history.

The rock legend ripped up Sir Richard Branson’s contract for 35 dates in three cities in front of astonished promoters after the other members of the supergroup all signed up.

The tour would have earned singer Plant and fellow founders Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones £190million each before tax.

But Plant, 66, said he thought it wasn’t the right thing to do.

A source close to the group said: “They have tried to talk him round but there is no chance.

“His mind is made up and that’s that.”

Virgin tycoon Branson, 64, has been a lifelong fan of the band.

He was getting ready to rebrand one of his Jumbo jets “The Starship” to fly the group around the venues.

An industry source said they were told they could have £250 million for 35 dates in three cities, London at the O2, Berlin and New Jersey.

Led Zep were also promised £70million of the profit from merchandise and there was an option to do 45 more gigs in five venues.

The cash was to be split three ways between Plant, Page, 70, and Jones, 68, while Jason Bonham, 48, son of late drummer John, would have been paid a wage to perform.

Our band source said: “Jimmy, John and Jason signed up immediately.

“It was a no-brainer for them but Robert asked for 48 hours to think about it. When he said no and ripped up the paperwork he had been given, there was an enormous sense of shock.

"There is no way they can go ahead without him.”

Branson had planned to have the staircase of the Starship jet renamed the Stairway to Heaven after the band’s 70s hit and was going to sell off the back 20 rows of the aircraft as special Led Zep seats for £100,000 each.

The source added: “Branson tried to pull out all of the stops. But even his money was not enough to get Plant to sign up. He is gutted.”

Plant has previously said: “I have to be in some brand new zones quite regularly... It’s an insane thing to do, to go back.”

Formed in 1966, Led Zeppelin have sold more than 300 million albums. Their last performance was a one night only gig at London’s O2 on December 10, 2007.

It's a bit arrogant of Branson to assume that large piles of money would convince Zeppelin to reform. Like they don't have enough cash? Either way, I'd rather they not force it...if the band themselves isn't into it, I'd rather they don't. And I have a feeling that Plant's voice isn't quite there anymore.

Branson had planned to have the staircase of the Starship jet renamed the Stairway to Heaven

Yeah, given that five people have already died while working on Branson's ridiculous consumer space rockets, this nickname is even MORE appropriate.